Investigations of the physics of granular matter offer an unique testbed for understanding the thermostatistics of non-equilibrium systems due to both the large amount of interparticle dissipation and the external driving necessary to maintain the dynamics of granular flows. The tabletop nature of many of the experiments also lends these systems well to investigations of importance by both graduate and undergraduate researchers. Often what is learned in these simple systems has implications in a host of other disciplines including biology, chemistry, geology, and engineering. At the heart of many of these experiments are the acquisition and analysis of image data from a variety of high-resolution and high-speed imaging systems. The computational and mathematical aspects of these investigations also expand the interdisciplinary nature of the work, and the skills students develop pursuing the answers to questions in the field often carry over to other research disciplines. I will discuss several investigations pursued in the laboratory as well as some of the former students who have begun their successful careers in my research group.